Dr. Jeffrey Prater was among the very first graduates of the music department, and later taught for 33 years at Iowa State as Professor and Chair of the Theory-Composition division where he was named a “Master Teacher” and “Distinguished Scholar in the Arts and Humanities.”

In 2005, Prater received a Fulbright Senior Lecturer Award and was in residence at Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University in Kaliningrad, Russia. This international lecturing relationship continues to this day, with Prater having returned to the Russian Federation 12 times (twice for the U.S. State Department’s “Speakers and Specialists” program), and having presented over 90 lectures on musical culture in the United States.

As a composer, he has written over 90 original musical compositions and has received numerous commissions and awards for his work, including the American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) award every year since 1996. In 2007, Prater was invited to attend an international choral festival at the Saratov (Russia) Conservatory of Music, where his hour-long oratorio Veni Creator Spiritus was performed by the Saratov Governor’s Theatre Chorus, soloists from the United States, and the Saratov Symphony Orchestra.

Prater holds degrees from the University of Iowa, Michigan State University, and Iowa State University. The Department of Music & Theatre is enormously proud of his accomplishments, achievements, and dedication to teaching.